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Thursday, September 26, 2013

Upon further review, PSC approves Highland wind farm

An article by Tom Content documents how the PSC reversed course on the Highland Wind Farm project, which has now been approved:

After initially rejecting the plan, Wisconsin energy regulators gave the go-ahead Thursday for Emerging Energies to build a $250 million wind farm in western Wisconsin.

The state Public Service Commission approved the St. Croix County wind farm in a 2-to-1 vote, with commission Chairman Phil Montgomery agreeing to support the project.

Earlier this year, Montgomery and commissioner Ellen Nowak had rejected the plan, saying the developer hadn’t shown it was able to comply with the state’s noise standard for wind turbines.

But they opened the door to Emerging Energies to show how it could comply with the standard, and the developer followed up, indicating it could comply with the standard by curtailing some of the turbines at night.

Montgomery said Thursday he was satisfied with the developer's curtailment plan, but wanted to see documentation that the wind turbines are programmed to meet the noise standard -- and that the project developers follow up "with adequate measurement and monitoring."

In a statement after the vote, the conservation group Clean Wisconsin praised the panel’s 2-to-1 decision.

“Today’s decision is a victory for cleaner air and water in Wisconsin,” said Katie Nekola of Clean Wisconsin in a statement. “The Highland Wind project will supply enough clean, safe electricity to power hundreds of homes and businesses, and will displace dirty coal power.”

If the project moves forward to construction, the Highland Wind Farm in the town of Forest in St. Croix County would consist of up to 44 wind turbines, generating 102.5 megawatts of electricity.